You'll Never Walk Alone

Rafael Benitez is delighted with the progress Liverpool have made so far this season and wants them to continue it against West Ham on Monday.With Steven Gerrard talking of his "hunger" for the league title and Benitez close to agreeing a new contract, the Hammers could find this is not the time to be trying to end a 45-year wait for a win at Anfield.

West Ham travel to Merseyside facing a relegation fight themselves and without a win at Anfield since Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters' scored in 1963 - when the Beatles' 'She Loves You' was top of the charts.

They will not find much love from the Merseysiders this time around.

With Liverpool already qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League, Benitez now wants his side to concentrate hard on cementing their position in the race for the Premier League title.

He said: "We have qualified for the next stage in Europe, now we have three months to concentrate on the league. We have only lost once in the Premier League this season and we must make sure we continue that level of form."

Benitez, believed to be close to a new deal at the club after further talks in recent days between the manager's agent and club owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, knows a run of indifferent Liverpool performances must come to an end.

A poor display in their last home league game allowed Fulham to claim a 0-0 draw, and the midweek victory over Marseille in Europe was hardly convincing.

Now Liverpool have a run of nine league games before title rivals Chelsea visit Anfield on February 1, in which they should only be troubled when they travel to Arsenal this month and face Everton at home on January 19.

The rest of that run, starting with the Hammers, includes matches with Blackburn, Hull, Bolton, Newcastle, Stoke and Wigan.

If Liverpool are to be considered genuine contenders, there can be no slip-ups in such matches.

Full-back Alvaro Arbeloa underlines the desire not to allow supposed lesser sides to get anything at Anfield, as Stoke did with a 0-0 draw back in September before Fulham achieved the same result a week ago.

Arbeloa said: "We know we have to improve at Anfield in the league. The draw with Fulham was very frustrating, and we did the same against Stoke. You must win your home games if you want to win the title.

"We cannot continue to make mistakes at Anfield, we must find a solution to the way teams come to defend here.

"We lost two points against Fulham in our last home league game, which annoyed us. So we know we must put that right as soon as possible."

Liverpool will be without striker Fernando Torres with a hamstring problem and defender Fabio Aurelio, who has a calf injury. Robbie Keane and Andrea Dossena are expected to come into the side.

The match will mark Gerrard's 10-year anniversary since his first-team debut, when he came on as substitute against Blackburn on November 29, 1998.

Gerrard said: "We have got another important game coming up against West Ham and that is what I'm focusing on now.

"It's also important that we try to improve on our performance against Fulham and try to take all three points. Every game is crucial.

"The anniversary means a lot to me. It has been a special week and I have been having to pinch myself because I've been living this dream since I first pulled on a red shirt.

"The 10 years seem to have gone by in a flash but there's an old saying that time flies when you are having fun and that is exactly what I've had.

"It has been the best 10 years of my life and hopefully that will continue for many years to come. If anything, I am actually more hungry than ever before.

"I am.

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola would rather have former Chelsea team-mates Frank Lampard and John Terry in his team than Steven Gerrard.Zola's side will come up against Gerrard at Anfield on Monday evening as the 28-year-old celebrates a decade in the Premier League.

Gerrard is often compared with Lampard - particularly when it comes to the national side - but Zola is in no doubt which of the two England midfielders he would want to play in his team.

"I'm very divided but I'd have to have John Terry and Frank Lampard, no disrespect to anyone else," said the former Blues striker.

"I know them very well and they were fantastic players for Chelsea.

"Frank Lampard is an excellent player because he can defend, he can clear, he can help the team to create and he can finish it.

"He's a fantastic player to have in your team. He's excellent and also scores important goals in important matches. The same goes for Gerrard."

The 13th-placed Hammers have not won at Anfield since September 1963 and have a daunting task to beat Rafa Benitez's side, who are joint top with Chelsea.

The Reds' attack will be blunted by the absence of Fernando Torres, but Zola believes Liverpool have equally dangerous players who can step in.

The 42-year-old Italian, known for his creative flair as a player, admits defence will take priority at Anfield but said they would not be sacrificing their usual attacking style too much.

"Torres is a very important player for them," Zola added.

"I don't know whether they'll change the way they play but he is important for them.

"Liverpool have a big, big squad so if Torres doesn't play they can play (Robbie) Keane or (Ryan) Babel. So they'll still be a threat for us.

"They've got enough options to cause us problems so obviously we're going to try to stop them and play our game.

"They haven't lost at home yet so it's a huge challenge but the reward will be huge if we win.

"When you are a footballer you get so up for these big games. Plus it's going to be on television so it's huge for them.

"We are going to play our match the way we normally play. We're not a team that can go there and sit back and wait and wait.

"We have different qualities but obviously our defensive side is going to be vital. When you play a side better than you, you have to look after the defensive side of the game and that's what we've been focusing on this week.

"But we're not going to be sitting waiting for something to happen."

Liverpool plan a total overhaul of Fernando Torres's medical care to try to discover the reason for his fifth hamstring injury in 16 months.

The Spanish striker broke down again during Wednesday's Champions League victory over Marseille.

Scans have revealed a repetition of the injury that could rule him out for three weeks, the December 21 trip to Arsenal being the tentative target for his comeback.

Torres has had three similar injuries on international duty, and two now with Liverpool, in the 16 months since his arrival at Anfield from Atletico Madrid.

Boss Rafael Benitez reveals Torres has no history of such an injury in Spain, which further deepens the concerns over his fitness.

He said: "Fernando had no such muscle or hamstring problems while with Atletico Madrid."

But as former Liverpool star Michael Owen knows all too well, hamstring injuries can dog you for the rest of your career once they have taken hold.

And now the 24-year-old striker has voiced his own concerns at the problem. He said: "I am a little disappointed, but all I can do is move forward.

"It is worrying me because it has happened a few times. After this latest injury the important thing is to recover without rushing a comeback date and trying to make sure it does not happen again."

Torres will miss Monday's game at home to West Ham, and could also be sidelined for matches against Blackburn, PSV Eindhoven and Hull.

Benitez said: "We are very disappointed with the situation. We have to analyse why it has happened. We have been working with prevention exercises in the past, and still we have the same problem.

"We were taking time with him, he wasn't being rushed back. The time and training was all under control, as was all the exercises.

"We now have to analyse why it has happened again. The doctor and the physio were both working very hard with Fernando and they are both first-class, but now it is the same situation.

"We will now not be taking any risks with his comeback. If he is fit then he will play, if he is not fit then he won't, it is simple."

He added: "We were working very hard with prevention exercises, and that was after the first couple of times that it happened.

"But it has happened again. He played in the Carling Cup and was not sharp, but he was sharp in training and little by little he was put under pressure."

Torres had short spells against West Brom, Tottenham and Bolton, plus a substitute appearance for Spain against Chile. Then he played two full games and broke down again.

Benitez said: "Everything was under control. But maybe against Marseille he was tired towards the end of the match and that is when it happened again. He went on a sprint and pulled something.

"Now we will have to start all over again to try to solve this problem.

"Because it has happened again and again we must analyse the small things. Maybe the way you walk, maybe your footwear or the exercises you do.

"I have talked to Fernando looking for a solution, and also with the doctor and physio staff. We must solve this, it is not a serious injury, more one that is difficult to cure."

Robbie Keane will now get an extended opportunity to stake a claim for a regular place, having been substitute against Marseille to facilitate Torres' comeback.

Liverpool have also lost full-back Fabio Aurelio with a calf injury, and Italian defender Andreas Dossena should step in against the Hammers.

UEFA have opened disciplinary proceedings against Marseille after Liverpool's Steven Gerrard was hit by a cigarette lighter during the sides' Champions League meeting on Wednesday.

European soccer's governing body said on Friday that the French club would be charged with the throwing of missiles by their supporters at the next meeting of UEFA's disciplinary body on December 11.

Gerrard scored the only goal of Liverpool's 1-0 Group D victory to send them into the competition's knockout stages.

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres will be out of action for up to three weeks with a hamstring strain.

The Spain international, who was also sidelined for three weeks in October with a similar problem, picked up the injury in the 1-0 Champions League victory against French side Marseille at Anfield.

"Fernando has a strain in his right hamstring and will be out of action for between two and three weeks," a spokesman said on the club website after the player underwent a scan.

Torres, who scored Spain's winner in the Euro 2008 final, is Liverpool's joint top scorer in the league this season with five goals.

The club will also be without Brazilian left back Fabio Aurelio, who suffered a calf strain and is expected to be out for two weeks.

Liverpool are level with Premier League leaders Chelsea on 33 points but with an inferior goal difference ahead of the weekend's programme.

They host West Ham United on Monday.

LIVERPOOL (AFP) - Steven Gerrard celebrated his return from injury by firing Liverpool into the knockout stages of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Marseille here on Wednesday.

The Liverpool captain's first-half header from Xabi Alonso's cross proved enough to secure a victory over opponents who deserved better from a display every bit as spirited as the one that had seen them become the first French club to win at Anfield 13 months ago.

"We'll have a few regrets because we had chances up to the last minute but the only thing that makes me unhappy was the result," said Marseille coach Erik Gerets.

"I was quite happy with the performance. For the first time in a long time, we played as a unit and with the kind of desire that everyone said we were missing."

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez admitted his side had lived dangerously at times. "It was a strange game. We were controlling the game and then we scored and they started to attack us.

"We were trying to play on the counter attack with Fernando Torres but our final ball was never good enough to hurt them. The game was too open against a team with pace and ability. But the important thing is we won and we are qualified."

Ultimately it was the sloppy marking that allowed Gerrard to claim his fifth goal in as many games in this season's competition that snuffed out Marseille's last chance of progress to the last 16.

But Gerets' men could also count themselves unfortunate not to have enjoyed the breaks that would have enabled them to capitalise on a string of good chances as they put Liverpool under intense pressure after the interval.

It was a night of milestones for Benitez. His 66th European match in charge of the club eclipsed Bill Shankly's record while a 39th victory on the European stage saw him draw level with Bob Paisley on that count.

The Spaniard, though, could scarcely have been satisfied with another lacklustre display from his side which, even with Gerrard returning at the expense of Robbie Keane, lacked the attacking intensity he had promised in the wake of Saturday's sluggish display against Fulham.

Marseille were fortunate not to be punished in the opening minutes when Dirk Kuyt charged down Taye Taiwo's attempted clearance, the Dutchman failing to pick out Torres with his cross, and Daniel Agger's long-range strike required Steve Mandanda to make his first save of the evening.

More than 20 minutes had elapsed before the visitors' goalkeeper was called into serious action however and he did well to block Kuyt's header at close range after Torres had skipped past Vitorino Hilton on the right of the box.

Marseille failed to clear their lines and they paid the price less than a minute later after Alvaro Arbeloa sent Alonso overlapping down the right.

The Spanish midfielder's first-time cross was struck with his customary precision over a Marseille defence that had neglected to pick up Gerrard lurking beyond the back post.

Unchecked, the England midfielder was able to advance to the edge of the six-yard area before powering a header past Mandanda's right hand.

Marseille's best moment of the opening period came ten minutes before the break, when Taye Taiwo's skidding freekick forced Jose Reina to get down smartly at his left-hand post.

Liverpool's goalkeeper appeared less accomplished as he flapped at the resulting corner and was relieved to see Ronald Zubar head wide from a tight angle.

A rare right foot effort from Albert Riera drew another stop from Mandanda in first-half stoppage time.

But Liverpool were far from comfortable and could count themselves fortunate that Mamadou Niang's boot swiped at clean air when the Marseille striker got clear in the penalty area shortly after the restart.

Minutes later, the Senegal striker turned Jamie Carragher 40 yards out but, with a clear run at goal, opted to shoot too early and his effort failed to trouble Reina.

The trickery of Hatem Ben Arfa on the right was also giving Liverpool problems and the France midfielder came agonisingly close to equalising midway through the half with a beautifully struck free-kick from the corner of the box that drew an equally pleasing fingertips save from Reina.

A slip by Agger then presented Niang with a sight of goal but the Danish defender's blushes were spared by substitute Andrea Dossena, who threw his body into the line of fire for an important block on what was to prove Marseille's last clear-cut chance of an equaliser.

Fernando Torres has claimed the Premier League is "way ahead" of La Liga, a season and a half after joining Liverpool from Atletico Madrid.

The Spain striker took the Premier League by storm last season following his big-money move from Atletico in the summer of 2007, scoring 24 goals in his debut campaign for the Reds.

Although his second season at Anfield has been affected by some nagging injuries, Torres insists he is completely at home in England.

"It isn't easy to adapt but once you have, you would have trouble wanting to play anywhere else," said the 24-year-old, who scored Spain's winner in last summer's Euro 2008 final against Germany.

"The Premier League is way ahead of the Spanish league.

"You go to play away at a team in the relegation zone and you find yourself playing on a perfect pitch, with the stands full to bursting and opponents who are there to play football.

"And even if they lose, the crowd are going to cheer them on until the death. You only see this in British football."

Torres added: "The club is a symbol of a city which fought to stay alive.

"Everyone is proud of the team. Players want to come here because they know that Liverpool is a truly great club.

"Anfield is the most English of all the grounds - people live and breath football there.

"With just 45,000 fans there, that roar they give makes you think you have wings on your feet."

Torres completed his move to Liverpool in July last year, a month-and-a-half after they had been defeated by AC Milan in the final of the Champions League.

The striker revealed he was approached by Liverpool coach and fellow Spaniard Rafael Benitez just after that match, but he had trouble believing it was not a hoax call.

"Rafa Benitez phoned me on my mobile," Torres recalled.

"At the start, I was asking myself if this was some person imitating him. So I called (Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe) Reina to make sure it really was Rafa's number.

"Then after that, I didn't have to think for long. I knew that was the call I had been waiting for."